1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a boot, particularly a ski boot having a rigid sheath and a rigid sole as it is presently used for Alpine skiing.
2. Prior Art
With modern ski boots, designated for downhill or Alpine skiing, walking and standing without skis is rather uncomfortable, particularly when ski boots of the type commonly used nowadays have a relatively rigid sole and a relatively rigid sheath. The discomfort experienced by skiers today is increased because the ski boot has a relatively high sheath directed forwardly in a direction generally toward the toe end of the ski boot so that the tibia of the skier is forced into the forward position expedient for downhill skiing.
Indeed, attempts have been made to improve walking with the ski boot by providing a boot with a boot sole that is rounded towards the tip of the boot and which rises towards the heel end. Ski boots have been constructed, whose soles and/or sheaths, respectively, are less stiff in certain parts than in others in order to facilitate at least some bending through of the sole and the sheath during walking. Indeed, these measures may afford a certain rolling off of the boot over the front and back edge of its sole when walking in the ski boot without skis which, however, leaves room for improvement as the rounding out of the boot sole towards the boot tip and towards the heel end is possible only in a limited degree if a tight fit of the ski boot and the ski binding and the great bending resistance of boot sole and boot sheath, desired for skiing, are not to be considerably impaired. Walking aids in the form of blocks or the like were also suggested which can be disposed underneath the ball area of the boot sole and are used to facilitate a rolling off of the boot across or over the block during walking without skis. These walking aids are also used to lift the boot tip and thus to give the boot a different standing surface or position so as to adjust for the forward incline of the boot sheath. These walking aids have certain disadvantages. By placing the aids underneath the ball area of the boot sole, the whole ski boot is elevated, which again produces discomfort and little feeling of safety, particularly during walking. The aids can also be lost and are cumbersome to attach to the ski boot.